Question map
Which of the following brings out the 'Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers'?
Explanation
The Consumer Price Index Numbers for Industrial Workers CPI (IW) are being compiled, maintained and disseminated by the Labour Bureau since its inception.[1] CPI-IW is a price index released by the Labour Bureau to measure the impact of price rise on the cost of living for working class families spread across certain select industries.[2] The CPI Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) index measures the change in price of commodity basket consumed by the industrial workers and is published monthly by Labour Bureau under Ministry of Labour and Employment for all India as well as States and Union Territories.[3] The base year for CPI-IW was changed from 2001 to 2016 in October 2020.[4] Therefore, the Labour Bureau is the correct answer, not the Reserve Bank of India, Department of Economic Affairs, or Department of Personnel and Training.
Sources- [1] https://des.delhi.gov.in/sites/default/files/DES/universal-tab/prices_indices_2015-16.pdf
- [2] https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/budget2021-22/economicsurvey/doc/vol2chapter/echap05_vol2.pdf
- [3] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 1: Fundamentals of Macro Economy > 1. Consumer Price Index (CPI): > p. 31
- [4] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 4: Inflation > b) Consumer Price Index > p. 66
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'Agency-Index Mapping' question found in every standard Economy textbook. It tests the fundamental administrative division of labor: RBI handles money, MoSPI handles general stats, and Labour Bureau handles workforce-specific data. Missing this means you skipped the 'Who publishes what' table in your Inflation chapter.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Does the Reserve Bank of India publish the Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)?
- Statement 2: Does the Department of Economic Affairs (Government of India) publish the Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)?
- Statement 3: Does the Labour Bureau (Government of India) publish the Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)?
- Statement 4: Does the Department of Personnel and Training (Government of India) publish the Consumer Price Index Number for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW)?
- Explicitly states which agency compiles, maintains and disseminates CPI-IW.
- Shows responsibility lies with the Labour Bureau, not the Reserve Bank of India.
- Describes CPI-IW as a price index released by the Labour Bureau.
- Reinforces that Labour Bureau, not RBI, is the releasing agency for CPI-IW.
- States Labour Bureau, Shimla compiles and releases the Consumer Price Index on a monthly basis for selected centers.
- Specifies the compilation/release role of Labour Bureau for CPI-IW (supports that RBI is not the publisher).
States that several CPI indices including CPI (IW) are published monthly by the Labour Bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment (identifies a specific publisher for CPI-IW).
A student could use the rule that CPI-IW is linked to Labour Bureau to check whether RBI publishes it (if Labour Bureau publishes it, RBI likely does not).
Lists CPI - Industrial Worker and explicitly notes it is compiled by the Labour Bureau under Ministry of Labour and Employment (another statement assigning responsibility to Labour Bureau).
Combine this with knowledge that government statistical agencies publish indices to infer which agency is responsible for CPI-IW rather than the central bank.
Presents an exam MCQ asking which body 'brings out' CPI-IW with options that include the RBI and the Labour Bureau, implying this is a question of institutional responsibility (and that Labour Bureau is a plausible answer).
A student could treat this as an indicator that publication responsibility is commonly attributed to Labour Bureau and verify by checking official sources for publisher attribution.
Explains that different CPI aggregates (e.g., CPI Combined) are published by other statistical bodies (NSO) and that CPI variants are used differently for policy, showing a pattern that various indices are published by different government agencies.
Use the pattern that statistical agencies (not RBI) publish CPI series to judge whether RBI would be the publisher of CPI-IW; then check the specific agency responsible for CPI-IW.
Describes WPI as being published by DPIIT, illustrating the general rule that price indices are published by the relevant ministries/agencies rather than the RBI.
Extend the pattern that commodity/price indices are produced by specific government departments to hypothesize that RBI is unlikely to publish CPI-IW and then verify with the Labour Bureau/Ministry sources.
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